Senior Experience Strategist (Hybrid)

M&T Bank; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 86,000 - 143,000; Full time

Job summary

M&T Bank’s Experience Design & Innovation team seeks a Senior Service Designer to lead service and touchpoint experiences within the Commercial Bank. You will guide cross-functional teams and shape strategy for customer-centric banking solutions.

The role requires hands-on service design, workshop facilitation, user research, and translating insights into differentiated service concepts while ensuring risk controls and brand alignment. Hybrid work model with multiple U.S. offices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Service Design, Human Computer Interaction, Strategic Design, or similar; minimum 3 years relevant experience or 7 with education
• Experience creating service blueprints, journey maps, concept designs, service experience prototypes, empathy maps, and value proposition proposals
• Hands-on experience designing for a variety of digital and non-digital touchpoints
• Proven ability to mentor others and lead cross-functional workshops
• Familiarity with design systems and accessibility standards

Responsibilities

• Lead team members dedicated to one or more opportunity spaces and connect to broader experience vision
• Ideate and conceptualize service concepts aligned to strategies and provide implementation recommendations
• Lead cross-functional teams in design workshops using human-centered methods
• Conduct user research in partnership with the UX Research team and translate insights into opportunity spaces
• Apply service design tools (journey maps, service blueprints) to achieve program outcomes
• Mentor and educate others on service design principles and best practices
• Collaborate with Product, Process, Finance, Research, Analytics, and Technology teams

Skills

Service design

Human-centered design

Prototyping

Workshops

Design thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Service Design or related field

Tools

Miro

Webex

Adobe

Sketch

InVision

Figma

Job description

Overview:
As a Senior Service Designer on the M&T Experience Design & Innovation team, you will lead the design of service and touchpoint experiences within the Commercial Bank.

Overview:
As a Senior Service Designer on the M&T Experience Design & Innovation team, you will lead the design of service and touchpoint experiences within the Commercial Bank.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Lead team members dedicated to one or more opportunity spaces; connect to broader experience vision.
• Ideate and conceptualize service concepts aligned to strategies defined by product and workstream leads and provide recommendations for implementation.
• Lead cross-functional teams in design workshops using human-centered and design thinking methodologies.
• Perform user/customer research in partnership with our User Experience Research team.
• Translate user/customer insights into opportunity spaces for providing differentiating service experiences.
• Strategically choose and apply the service design tools and methods (e.g., journey maps, service blueprints) that best fit the strategic outcomes of the program.
• Contribute example service design best practices for M&T Bank.
• Work closely with peers from Product, Process, Finance, Research, Analytics, and Technology.
• Communicate rationale to partners and collaborate with cross-functional peers.
• Adhere to applicable compliance/operational risk controls in accordance with Company or regulatory standards and policies.
• Promote an environment that supports belonging and reflects the M&T Bank brand.
• Maintain M&T internal control standards, including timely implementation of internal and external audit points together with any issues raised by external regulators as applicable.
• Complete other related duties as assigned.

Scope of Responsibilities:
The M&T Experience Design & Innovation team is a dedicated team of designers, developers, strategists, and leaders who believe in the transformative power of customer centricity. We believe that focus on craft and advocacy for the customer as truth are keys to building differentiated, innovative experiences. We lead by example — staying curious, doing the work, and challenging assumptions at every turn. We’re bold enough to believe that great design can exist at a bank, and that it can be a catalyst to bettering the lives of our customers and the communities we share with them. Our mission: Combine deep human understanding with the bank’s full suite of capabilities to provide personal, connected, and surprisingly simple banking experiences that help our customers achieve their financial goals.

Managerial/Supervisory Responsibilities:
None

Education and Experience Required:
Bachelor's degree in Service Design, Human Computer Interaction, Strategic Design, or similar, and a minimum of 3 years relevant experience or in lieu of a degree, a combined minimum of 7 years education and/or relevant work/service design experience
Background in the design/user experience field, preferably demonstrated through an online portfolio
Experience creating service blueprints, illustrated journey maps, concept designs, service experience prototypes, empathy maps, and value proposition proposals to communicate ideas and designs
Hands-on experience designing for a variety of digital touchpoints and non-digital channels
Experience with conceptualization, ideation, and iterative prototyping, and with employing various methods to prototype service concepts such as staging and role-playing approaches
Ability to mentor and educate others on the value and principles of good experience design
Team player who is comfortable navigating ambiguity within a self-directed culture
Ability to establish strong working relationships with colleagues, clients, and key stakeholders
Experience conducting remote and in-person workshops; strong familiarity with supporting tools such as Miro and Webex
Proficiency in design and prototyping tools such as Adobe, Sketch, InVision, Figma or other similar tools used widely in the design community
Proficiency in industry best practices for digital and non-digital products and services
Experience with accessibility standards, cross-platform issues, mobile user interfaces and systems-thinking

Education and Experience Preferred:
Core Competencies:

• Customer Centric – Outside in perspective with a focus on improving the customer experience
• Curiosity – Seeks out ways to improve the customer experience
• Resilient – Respectful of broad opinions and makes tough calls with ease
• Driven & Prioritization – Self-motivated and knows how to say no
• Challenges assumptions
• Decisive & Lead Taking – Sense of urgency with an ability to inspire followers
• Takes ownership with a strong sense of accountability
• Interdependent – Communicates and convenes others; reaches across boundaries
• Continuously seeks out ways to improve

Familiarity with design systems
Experience in financial services industry a plus
Consulting Experience is a plus

Work Model & Office Locations:

This role follows a hybrid work model, requiring onsite presence four days per week at one of M&T Bank’s regional offices. Candidates must reside within a reasonable commuting distance to one of the following locations:

• 345 Main Street, Buffalo, NY
• 115 Federal Street, Boston, MA
• 1 Light Street, Baltimore, MD
• 1350 I Street NW, Washington, DC
• 1100 North Market Street, Wilmington, DE
• 277 Park Avenue, New York, NY
• 850 Main Street, Bridgeport, CT
• 77 Pine Street, Burlington, VT

Anticipated Travel Requirements:

• Employees in this position should be prepared to travel at least once per month.
• Travel frequency may fluctuate based on business demands and the nature of assigned projects.
• Employees located outside the Buffalo market are generally expected to travel more frequently than those already based there

M&T Bank is committed to fair, competitive, and market-informed pay for our employees. The pay range for this position is $85,800.00 - $143,000.00 Annual (USD). The successful candidate’s particular combination of knowledge, skills, and experience will inform their specific compensation.

Location:
Buffalo, New York, United States of America